Drought in Montana, February 1 to 28, 2022

Name: Drought in Montana, February 1 to 28, 2022
Start: 2022-02-01T00:00
End: 2022-02-28T23:59
Location: Montana

February 1 to 28, 2022 · NWS GGW · 16 events in 16 counties and zones

February overall was warmer and drier than average and this would allow the ongoing drought to persist with little to no improvement.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 16 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 16

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS GGW wrote it up.

February overall was warmer and drier than average and this would allow the ongoing drought to persist with little to no improvement.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 31, 8:37 PM MST, 3 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 31, 8:37 PM MST, 3 hours 23 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Glasgow MT
837 PM MST Mon Jan 31 2022

.DISCUSSION...
Going forecast in good shape but wind gusts are flirting with High
Wind criteria for Valley county with gusts here at GGW in the mid
50s. Counties remaining in the warning into much of the night
looks good.

Light snow over the central zones will probably dissipate soon and
have little impact except for slightly lower visibility. TFJ

Previous Discussion...

Afternoon Update (2130Z):
Outside of the next 24 hours, the forecast remains relatively
untouched and the same as the morning. In the near term,
observations have shown that winds are definitely more enhanced
than had been previously thought, and with precipitation falling
right along the front and with these winds, visibility reduction
has been a concern. It was decided that at least for several hours
into the overnight, the entire region needed a High Wind Warning.
Once the overnight hours commence, the western half of the region
begins to show slowing winds, while the eastern half of the region
is likely to get further wind enhancement as the low pressure
center (currently lagging a bit behind the cold front) swings
closer and through to the east. As had been the thought from the
last several days, Wind Chills will be a concern tonight and
through tomorrow, especially with such high winds. Thus a Wind
Chill Advisory was needed for much of the northern and eastern
areas through around noon Monday. Likely, this is just the first
of multiple days of Wind Chill Advisory or Warning for northeast
Montana.

Cliff

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION:
Shortwave trof moving through the northern Rockies this morning
with lee low beginning to shift east from Alberta. As the system
continues moving east today, cold air will begin to spill across
the border into Montana. Tightening pressure gradient and cold
air advection along with 50+ kt 700mb jet will bring strong post
frontal winds into Montana. Guidance all still suggestive of wind
gusts near but not necessarily over 55 mph. The most likely areas
to meet High Wind Criteria for a sustained period continue to be
southwest Phillips county and to a lesser extent Petroleum county
where High Wind Warning is already in effect. The other location
is Sheridan county due to proximity to surface low during the
evening hours. So have expanded warning to the northeast corner of
the state. The remainder of the zones have some potential for
meeting criteria but it is much more limited.

Warm front pushing across eastern Montana this morning with some
radar echoes in the vicinity of the front. Observations under the
echoes suggest little if any precipitation is making it to the
ground, but this could change as the front moves east through the
morning. As the cold front drops south this afternoon another
round of precipitation is possible. The first round of
precipitation will be mostly rain, although some colder
temperatures in the northeast could result in freezing rain or
snow. The second round will be snow or will quickly transition to
snow as the cold air spills south. QPE/Snow amounts with both
rounds will be generally light.

Temperatures will be in free fall behind the front, dropping below
zero on Tuesday night, with little recovery on Wednesday. Wind
chill advisories are expected to be needed perhaps as soon as
Tuesday morning.

Ridge begins to build across the west coast on Thursday with
temperatures starting to rebound over Montana. Ensemble data
suggest this warming trend will extend into the weekend. RAE

&&

.AVIATION...

UPDATED: 0335z

The last heavy snowshowers have exited the area to our east and
now we wait for these strong NW winds to diminish. They will
gradually overnight from west to east.

Weather the next few days look ok for flying, just cold with wind
chills and temperatures not getting much above zero. TFJ

&&

.GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Wind Chill Advisory from midnight tonight to noon MST Tuesday
for Central and Southern Valley...Daniels...Dawson...Eastern
Roosevelt...McCone...Northern Phillips...Northern Valley...
Prairie...Richland...Sheridan...Western Roosevelt...Wibaux.

High Wind Warning until 3 AM MST Tuesday for Daniels...Dawson...
Eastern Roosevelt...McCone...Prairie...Richland...Sheridan...
Western Roosevelt...Wibaux.

&&

weather.gov/glasgow

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 31, 7:15 PM MST, 4 hours 45 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
715 PM MST MON JAN 31 2022

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0702 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 2 W BLOOMFIELD          47.42N 104.96W
01/31/2022  M66 MPH          DAWSON             MT   MESONET

            MESONET STATION GW0525 BLOOMFIELD.

&&

TFJ

Local storm report, Jan 31, 7:36 PM MST, 4 hours 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
736 PM MST MON JAN 31 2022

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0654 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 12 WSW NOHLY            47.92N 104.33W
01/31/2022  M63 MPH          RICHLAND           MT   MESONET

            MESONET STATION 302004 15 SSW BAINVILLE.

0602 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 6 S COMERTOWN           48.81N 104.25W
01/31/2022  M62 MPH          SHERIDAN           MT   MESONET

            MESONET STATION MTCOM 6.0 S COMERTOWN (MT
            DOT).

0332 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 1 ESE ZORTMAN           47.91N 108.50W
01/31/2022  M62 MPH          PHILLIPS           MT   MESONET

            MESONET STATION ALDM8 ZORTMAN 1E.

0515 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 5 W VAN NORMAN          47.35N 106.49W
01/31/2022  M62 MPH          GARFIELD           MT   MESONET

            MESONET STATION MTM88 JORDAN E.

1258 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 2 WNW JORDAN            47.33N 106.95W
01/31/2022  M61 MPH          GARFIELD           MT   ASOS

            ASOS STATION KJDN JORDAN.

0630 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 1 NE SAINT MARIE        48.41N 106.52W
01/31/2022  M60 MPH          VALLEY             MT   MESONET

            MESONET STATION 07MT 1.0 NE SAINT MARIE
            (GGWWFO).

0720 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 3 S DOOLEY              48.83N 104.38W
01/31/2022  M60 MPH          SHERIDAN           MT   MESONET

            MESONET STATION 242454 3 S DOOLEY.

0718 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 1 NNW SPROLE            48.13N 105.07W
01/31/2022  M60 MPH          ROOSEVELT          MT   MESONET

            MESONET STATION POPM8 POPLAR RAWS.

0415 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 11 N VANDALIA           48.51N 106.91W
01/31/2022  M59 MPH          VALLEY             MT   MESONET

            MESONET STATION MTM34 10.9 N VANDALIA
            (MT-MESO).

0655 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 2 ENE PLENTYWOOD        48.78N 104.52W
01/31/2022  M58 MPH          SHERIDAN           MT   AWOS

            AWOS STATION KPWD PLENTYWOOD.

0631 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 9 SW BREDETTE           48.43N 105.44W
01/31/2022  M58 MPH          ROOSEVELT          MT   MESONET

            MESONET STATION 269001 8 WSW BREDETTE.

0530 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 6 NW SIDNEY             47.78N 104.25W
01/31/2022  M58 MPH          RICHLAND           MT   MESONET

            MESONET STATION MTM10 6.3 NW SIDNEY
            (MT-MESO).

1145 AM     NON-TSTM WND GST 4 ESE WAGNER            48.35N 108.00W
01/31/2022  M58 MPH          PHILLIPS           MT   MESONET

            MESONET STATION MTM69 3.6 E WAGNER
            (MT-MESO).

0650 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 2 E FORT PECK           48.01N 106.40W
01/31/2022  M58 MPH          MCCONE             MT   MESONET

            MESONET STATION GGWFP 2.4 E FORT PECK
            (GGWWFO).

0540 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 1 N NAVAJO              48.81N 105.06W
01/31/2022  M58 MPH          DANIELS            MT   MESONET

            MESONET STATION MTRED 1.3 N NAVAJO (MT DOT).

&&

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

16 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Sheridan

When: February 1, 12:00 AM MST to February 28, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Sheridan forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 48.721, -104.505 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start February, ongoing drought conditions in Sheridan County were at (D3-Extreme) for the whole county. On the second week, the northeastern two thirds of Sheridan County improved to (D2-Severe) conditions while the southwestern third of the county remained in (D3-Extreme) drought. By the end of the month, the whole county had improved to (D2-Severe) conditions.

Drought, Daniels

When: February 1, 12:00 AM MST to February 28, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Daniels forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 48.784, -105.549 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start February, ongoing drought conditions in the northwestern tip of Daniels County was at (D2-Severe) drought, while the remainder of the county was in (D3-Extreme) conditions. By the end of the month, all but the far southwestern corner had improved to (D2-Severe) drought, while the southwestern corner remained in (D3-Extreme) conditions.

Drought, Eastern Roosevelt

When: February 1, 12:00 AM MST to February 28, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Eastern Roosevelt forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start February, ongoing drought conditions in Eastern Roosevelt County were at (D3-Extreme) for the entire area. On the second week of February, the eastern edge of Eastern Roosevelt County improved to (D2-Severe) conditions while the rest of the county remained in (D3-Extreme) drought. At the end of the month, the northeastern third of Eastern Roosevelt County improved to (D2-Severe) conditions while the southwestern two thirds of the county remained in (D3-Extreme) conditions.

Drought, Richland

When: February 1, 12:00 AM MST to February 28, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Richland forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 47.788, -104.561 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

At the start of February the far southern corner of Richland County was in (D2-Severe) conditions, while the remainder of the county was in (D3-Extreme) conditions. These conditions would remain the same through the end of the month.

Drought, Dawson

When: February 1, 12:00 AM MST to February 28, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Dawson forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 47.266, -104.899 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start February, the northwestern third of Dawson County was in (D3-Extreme) conditions and the southeastern two thirds of Dawson County were in (D2-Severe) conditions. These conditions would remain the same through the end of the month.

Drought, Wibaux

When: February 1, 12:00 AM MST to February 28, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Wibaux forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 46.965, -104.249 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start February, ongoing drought conditions in all of Wibaux County was at (D2-Severe) conditions. These conditions would remain the same through the end of February.

Drought, Prairie

When: February 1, 12:00 AM MST to February 28, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Prairie forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 46.861, -105.378 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start the month of February, all but the northern border of Prairie County was in (D2-Severe) conditions, while the northern border remained in (D3-Extreme) conditions. This would last through the end of February.

Drought, Western Roosevelt

When: February 1, 12:00 AM MST to February 28, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Western Roosevelt forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start February, all of Western Roosevelt County was in (D3-Extreme) drought conditions. At the end of February the northeastern corner of Western Roosevelt County improved to (D2-Severe) conditions while the remaining part of Western Roosevelt County remained in (D3-Extreme) drought.

Drought, McCone

When: February 1, 12:00 AM MST to February 28, 11:59 PM MST
Where: McCone forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 47.645, -105.795 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start February, ongoing drought conditions in all of McCone County was at (D3-Extreme) conditions. These conditions would remain the same through the end of February.

Drought, Northern Valley

When: February 1, 12:00 AM MST to February 28, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Northern Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start February, ongoing drought conditions in all but the southeastern corner of Northern Valley County was in (D2-Severe) conditions, with the southeastern corner remaining in (D3-Extreme) conditions. By the end of the month, a portion of the eastern border with Daniels County improved to (D2-Severe) conditions. This puts most of Northern Valley County in (D2-Severe) conditions, with only the far southeastern corner in (D3-Extreme) drought.

Drought, Central and Southern Valley

When: February 1, 12:00 AM MST to February 28, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Central and Southern Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start February, ongoing drought conditions in all of Central and Southern Valley County in the far northwestern corner of Central and Southern Valley County was at (D2-Severe) conditions, while the rest of Central and Southern Valley County were in (D3-Extreme) conditions. These conditions would remain the same through the end of February.

Drought, Garfield

When: February 1, 12:00 AM MST to February 28, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Garfield forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 47.278, -106.993 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start February, ongoing drought conditions were at (D3-Extreme) conditions in all but extreme southeast Garfield County, which was in (D2-Severe) drought. These conditions would remain the same through the end of February.

Drought, Northern Phillips

When: February 1, 12:00 AM MST to February 28, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Northern Phillips forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start the month of February, ongoing drought conditions were at (D2-Severe) for all but the far western edge of Northern Phillips County, which was in (D3-Extreme) drought. These conditions would remain the same through the end of February.

Drought, Central and Se Phillips

When: February 1, 12:00 AM MST to February 28, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Central and Se Phillips forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start February, ongoing drought conditions in the northeastern third of Central and Southeast Phillips County was at (D2-Severe) conditions while the northwestern corner and the southern half of the county were in (D3-Extreme) drought. These conditions would last through the end of February.

Drought, Petroleum

When: February 1, 12:00 AM MST to February 28, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Petroleum forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 47.118, -108.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start February, all of Petroleum County was at (D3-Extreme) drought conditions. These conditions remained the same through the end of February.

Drought, Little Rocky Mountains

When: February 1, 12:00 AM MST to February 28, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Little Rocky Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start February, all of the Little Rocky Mountains was at (D3-Extreme) drought conditions. These conditions remained the same through the end of February.

What these are

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Montana in 2022 Every state in 2022 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, February 2022

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1001774, 1001775, 1001776, 1001778, 1001780, 1001781, 1001782, 1001791, 1001792, 1001793, 1008436, 1008461, 1008463, 1008483, 1008484, 1008485.